First, immediately after Wardell Quezergue's passing, I was asked to do a short piece for OffBeat on a few of his productions I think are important, or, at least, revealing of his talent. That should appear in the October issue as a part of their feature on the man.
After I finished that, it was time for the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans. Last weekend, I spent two days at the record show diggin' boxes and gabbing with fellow geeks from all over, and two full nights at the Howlin' Wolf for the concerts - make that three nights, as I went to the Hip Drop DJ showcase at d.b.a. on Thursday to kick it off. Wish I had time to review the event, which had plenty good to commend it, plus some great stuff, including Allen Toussaint [my photo from the floor] and his band taking part in the tribute to Cosimo Matassa the first night, truly awesome, plus the tribute to Stax and Memphis Soul the next night, featuring the fabulous Bo-Keys as the backing band, tight like that. Hope some of you got to go.By the way, the upcoming issue of OffBeat should also have another article by me on the original Sissy dance as it inspired certain New Orleans songs, which is a distillation of my post on the subject here a few months back. Thanks to Alex Rawls, Associate Editor of that fine publication, for the opportunity to briefly pretend to be a real journalist - twice.
As promised, I've got a post on Wardell in the works, should be up within the week; and there will be more after that - so stay tuned. I'm telling you, I haven't been slacking. . . .
Big honnor to be in Off Beat Hats off to you Dan :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jipes. Good to hear from you. I'm in total agreement with you on the OffBeat honor, since a lot of writers I respect fill those pages every month. Glad I got the opportunity to contribute. Now I've got to catch up here!
ReplyDeleteI am just turning on to your blog, and tuning into your internet radio, and it is fantastic! Thanks for all your hard work. I have always loved and performed New Orleans music, but only recently have I become utterly possessed by it. So, your sites contribute to a very groovy addiction. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Moses, and sorry for the delay in getting your comment to come up. It got lost in the spam for a while!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the interesting stufff on your blog. I don't know if anyone ever responded to your post on Jesse Gresham Plus Three, but just in case: they were a popular soul band around Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the '70s, led by organist-pianist Jesse Gresham from the nearby town of Drew (known to New Orleanians as the home of Archie Manning). The band on his Jewel session (which was done at Sam Phillips' studio in Memphis) included Johnny Agnew, guitar, and Larry Haggans, bass (both from Clarksdale) and drummer Nathaniel Jefferson from West Helena, Arkansas. The group had some vocalists, but never recorded again after the all-instrumental Jewel session. The band at times also included Josh Stewart and Earnest "Guitar" Roy, who are both still active on the Clarksdale blues scene. Gresham did double duty as a schoolteacher and is now a minister in Drew, where he narrowly lost a recent election for mayor. We included a photo of him, and of one of the Jewel 45s, on the recent Mississippi Blues Trail marker that was dedicated in Drew in honor of the Staple Singers and other local performers. The text and photos from that marker will soon be posted at www.msbluestrail.org.
ReplyDeleteJim O'Neal, Research Director
Mississippi Blues Trail
Thanks, Jim. I'm honored to have your comment.
ReplyDeleteThat's really helpful information on Jesse Gresham and his group, and worth the wait. I didn't have a clue and will go back and update that post in the archives at some point soon.
Keep up the great work with the Blues Trail. It's really an impressive project. I need to get a link for that up on the sidebar, too. You're keeping me on my toes.
Those who aren't familiar with Mr. O'Neal's impressive career as a journalist, historian, label owner and all-around blues guru, should plug his name into your search engine of choice and find out more.